So Thankful

A friend of mine gave a really good talk on Sunday about gratitude.  She asked the question, are we living the things that we are grateful for, not simply saying them?  So when I say I am grateful to have a temple, do I show that gratitude by visiting regularly.  When I say I am grateful for my family, do I show them that in the way that I treat them.

So this past week I have had much to be grateful for in having my parents here for Thanksgiving but I'm not sure how well I showed it since I spent a lot of time on the couch or in the bathroom.  My mom was amazing with entertaining the girls, cooking meals, and even cleaning my house before she left.  And despite the nausea, we had a great time as a family and I'm really looking forward to having them ALL (my whole family!) for Christmas.

 The girls love when Grandma comes because they get to play on her bed -- a mattress on the floor.  They enjoying snuggling, jumping, plopping, bouncing -- all the things they're not allowed to do on their regular beds (except the snuggling, but they never want to snuggle with me!).

 Sorry for the light behind the picture but Abby really loved watching football with daddy and Grandpa (which she can now say.  There is no more ka-pow).

 And it was tons of fun to get the decorations out of course!!  Boxes to sit in, things to play with that shouldn't be played with, pure heaven!

We went to Bass Pro Shop and looked at Santa Claus and rode the carousel.  Abby cried bloody murder when it was time to get off.

But she was super cute going to church on Sunday!  

My parents also stayed with the girls alone while Chopper and I took an overnight date for an early anniversary present.  Hooray!  We had a great time, very relaxing and I think we might have to do that again some time!

Now it's back to the same old same old except that everyone will be back in just 2 and 1/2 weeks and I have SOOOOO much to do!  And not enough energy.  Like right now -- I should start sewing but all I really want to do is take a nap.  What wins?  I guess we'll find out later.  Maybe just a short nap . . . 

Oh and this is cute video.  Abby is so vocal now and she likes to say "ta-da" when we turn the Christmas tree lights on but of course won't do it on camera.  But all our conversation is pretty interesting as the girls help decorate the tree.

And in other news . . .

I think everyone knows already PLUS I'm not doing very good at keeping a separate journal from my blogging so I might as well say it.

Chopper and I are pregnant!

Ok, well I am anyway.

I had to go back and put an exclamation point on that.  Actually I am excited but it's a little dampened right now by a few factors:

1.  I'm only 6 weeks and I'm already exhausted and nauseous.

2.  Now that Megan's almost four and Abby almost two I have a better understanding of what having children means -- especially multiple children.  Because even when pregnant with Abby, Megan was young enough to not really get it . . . yet.

So I'm excited but also apprehensive about the additional responsibility and work.  But I know there will be additional joy.  I'm already looking forward to seeing how different # 3 will be.  I was looking at Megan the other day when she was laying next to me in bed (I can't get up to save my life these days) and thought about how beautiful she is and how individual.  Abby too.  So the thought of a third one is really fun.

And the outpouring of love and support from my friends here has been incredible -- offers to take the girls so I can get some rest and one friend just brought me a lasagna so I don't have to cook tonight!  I have wonderful wonderful friends!!!

So that's the big news.  Stay tuned because more will surely follow!

Potty Training Success!!

Well it's been a week today since we started potty-training Megan and I think we've been very successful.  Since beginning the process Megan has:

1.  not had a single pee accident

2.  successfully transitioned from pooping on the floor to pooping in the potty

3.  Been dry for 4 nights in a row

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!!!!

I take no credit for this.

I think part of it is her age (4 years old in 2 1/2 months), the amount of bribery we've given her (shamelessly I might add), prunes, and Heavenly Father taking pity on me because of everything else.

Needless to say we are INCREDIBLY proud of her and have been doing lots and lots of happy dances around here.

Texas Ants are Mean!

There are many times that I am grateful I was never a pioneer but I am even more grateful that I was never a Texas pioneer.  Texas bugs are big, nasty, and mean and if I couldn't combat them with chemicals and solid walls and foundations, I think I would die.

Case in point, there was a terrible story about a baby abandoned in a dumpster a few months back and when it was found (incredibly still alive), the ants had gotten to it.  The pictures made me want to throw up and it wasn't bad -- just the thought.

So yesterday we went to a park to play with some friends.  The play set in this park is set in cement with that spongy rubber padding stuff but of course Abby and another little boy about her age find some dirt in the cement cracks to play with.  No problem right?  I'm all about playing in the dirt (sometimes).

The next thing I know, she comes running over to me whimpering and when I take a look, she is covered in ants!  Fortunately she was very well covered but they were all over her poor little hands and clothes.  And the thing is -- when they bite, they stick.  So you can't just brush them off, you have to flick, pinch, hit, use force to get them off.  And they hurt!  I don't think that these were full-fledged fire ants (which are HUGE and PAINFUL!) but they were the little black and red hybrids.

Look at her sweet little hands!

How horrendous is that!!!  She's fine now but THAT is why I try (obviously failed yesterday) to monitor their playing especially when it involves dirt.  These things are everywhere.  And it's also why we got a stand alone sandbox rather than built one in.  They're less likely to invade.

I hate them.

Learning and Growing

It's day 3 of potty-training boot camp and we're doing better than expected!  Megan surprisingly has not had a single wet accident (but the other one, that's a different story).  We are all going a little bit stir-crazy from being in the house all day every day (it's not quite warm enough to go naked outside) but we're surviving.

However, in light of the need to find things to do, Megan has acquired a few other skills besides using the potty.

1.  Cutting paper (all of my index cards have been reduced to confetti)

2.  Peeling eggs.  We got some brown eggs and she was so fascinated that I boiled them up and she ate some!  That is a miracle in and of itself.  And you should've seen how proud she was to peel that darn egg all by herself.

Chopper, Abby, and I are all sick.  That means things are really miserable and we're watching a lot of TV and ordering pizza because no one wants to cook.  But hopefully, by the end of the week, ALL of the misery will be over and we can move forward to Thanksgiving!

Oh and I know that I completely dropped the ball on 30 days of gratitude so instead I am creating a list (to post all at once) of 30 things I'm grateful for.  It's probably cheating but I'm not in the mood right now to post every single day.

I am grateful for delivery though.

Where Do I Even Begin????

I just uploaded 126 pictures.  And I thought that I was paring it down!

Chopper says it's just going to take ages for people to look at and that's probably true but I can't help myself!!!

This weekend I had the best husband ever!  Chopper took a day off of work and kept the girls so that I could go to Houston for the International Quilt Festival!!!!!!  It was positively amazing.  One lady next to me said, "I don't know whether to be inspired or discouraged."  They were ALL that good.  We (I went with some friends) spend Friday and Saturday at the Quilt Festival adoring quilts, shopping, having great girl time and great food and now I'm home and ready to work on all of my projects that need to be finished.  I bought way too much fabric so no one is getting anything for Christmas that's NOT quilted!  As I went through my pictures I realized that I just cannot convey how incredible this experience was -- and I didn't even take classes!  And I'm not going to point out which ones are hand or machine or art or applique or whatever.  If you love quilts (and there literally was something for everyone) then just enjoy the pictures.  If it needs some explanation -- then I'll share!

 The convention center looks like a giant cruise ship!

 Cancouver Cityscape at Dusk by Terry Aske

 Wheel of Teal by Marilyn J. Farquhar

 Good Onya Sonya Onya Bike! by Helen C. Godden

 Alpha Quilt by Becky A. Grover

 Sakura Sakura by Hiroko Miyama

 Everlasting Bouquet by Molly Hamilton-McNally and Cindy Seitz-Krug

 Chromatic Transitions by Rachel Wetzler

 Empire Star by Anna Faustino (this one included weaving)

 Spring Full Bloom by Michiyo Yamamoto

 Star Struck by Cheryl See (12,256 hexagons!)

 The Lilly Bloomed by Takido Fusako

 Vortex in Variation by Nora Ronningen

 Galaxy by Kayoko Hata

 Thank You Father by Kyoko Yamauchi (applique, not actual lace)

 Euphoria by Deborah Kemball (and that's her!)

 My Favorite Things by Mieko Sasano

 Mi Amor by Margarete Heinisch

 A Time Between  Times by Sara Madsen

 Harmony Within by Sue McCarty (this one best in show and it was awesome but not my favorite)

 Christmas All Around by Sherry Reynolds (don't you love the Christmas trees around the star?)

 Me and My Shadow by Gail Stepanek

 Insanity by Cathy Miller (so named because it's a miniature quilt that it IS insanity to put together)

 Monochromatic by Kumiko Rydl (another miniature)

 Willow by Gayle Shelton

 Reverie by Mardi Carter

 Angela's Oriental Rose Window by R. Schwarz

 Ovals and Circles and Squares, Oh My! by Diane Whittier

 Opening the Window by Young Kyu Ko

 Seom Jun River by Kye Sun Yoo

 Emotions 1 / Passion by Sang Mi Lee

 Monet's Garden by Eun-Sook An

 A Starlit Night by Soon-Joong Kim

 Happy Birthday by Harumi Asada

 Harmony in Nature by Harumi Asada

 Cherry Blossons by Masako Sakagami

 Weeping Dorothea by Ann Harwell

 Portland Reflection by Gay Ousley

 Fall Tateyama by Masako Sakagami

 The Meadow by Betty Busby

 Tropicas Insanity by Karen Nanos

 Little Red Schoolhouses by Judith H. Gunter

 Blazing Autumn Trees by Terry Aske

 California Beauty by Felisa C. Lyons

 The First Day by Martha A. Kraatz

 Luck Be A Lady by Madeline I. McMurry and Michelle Dean-Hage

 Star Gazing by Jean Crouchet and Denise Green

 Daiwabo Concentric Circles by Jane Statham

 Spiral Galaxy by Vickie K. Owen

 Oh that's me!  Surprise!  I made a pillowcase for the 1 million pillowcase challenge that's going on.  I was #509 completed at the show.

 Untitled by Joann Balling

 Welcome to New Braunfels, TX by Jane Hardy Miller

 Spinning Out Spinning In 4 by Helen Remick (top) and Spinning Out Spinning In 2: Katrina Fibernotchy by the same artist (bottom).

 A quilted hamburger at one of the guild booths -- I can't remember which one.

 The Quilt Show by Carole L. Corder

 Autumn Sunrise by Shelagh Deming

 The Quilt Car!!!!

 An Athlete on Ice by Yoshiko Miyamoto

 Natsumi and Sumire by Hiroko Hiyama (this one was SOOOOO sweet!)

 Checks and Balances by Caryl Bryer Fallert (LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS ONE TOO!)

 Artifications by Gloria Hansen

 Crested Barbet by Barbara McKie

 Peony by Barbara Persing

 Caravanserai by Cheryl FitzGerald

New York Sunset by DAMSS Marco Sarzi-Sartori and Daniela Arnoldi

 Central Park by Kathy York (3D)

 TheSecret Life of Dancing Tulips by Jeanne Brenner and Maureen O'Doogan

 Another Whimsical Garden by Tina Curran

 Red Vase at Moonlight by Barbara Lies

 Camelot Country by Liz Jones

 Crimson Promises by Sharon Schamber (this was won a big prize and was incredible.  It's also see-through -- I have no idea how she sewed the cording into the quilt like that -- oh and it's all hand dyed too.

 The One That Got Away by Margery Hedges (I loved the perspective on this)

 My White Garden by Michiko Inaba

 Metamorphosis by Gabrielle Paquin

 The Hues of Amber by Karlyn Bue Lohrenz

 Without Medusa a.k.a. My Big Fat Greek Quilt by Pat Connally

 Annj Pigneri with her quilt that I forgot to take a picture of the sign with the name of it!

 Counterpoint by Pam Hill

 Vintage Values by Linda Roy

 Marmalade Parade by Anne Michelle Settle

 The Laneway by Linda A. Hobbs and Grace Whiting

 Spring Awakens by Vanessa Wedding

They also had a display of these quilts.  It's a series called Twelve By Twelve.  Twelve artists were given a theme or color every two months and made a quilt that was sized 12 x 12.  There's more information, etc. on their blog for the project.

 Colorplay 10: Spice

 Theme 3: Community

 This was an Alice in Wonderland Quilt that was done by a group (each did a piece of the story and then they are puzzle pieces that fit together) but again, I forgot to take a picture of the credit!  I'm sorry!

 Lots of quilt stars!  This is Eleanor Burns.  It was really great to talk to artists about their works in the show.

And there was a cloth doll exhibit as well which I knew would freak Chopper out but I had to take a picture of this one of King Henry VIII and his wives (all holding symbols of how they no longer became his wives) because I thought it was hilarious.